State Rep. Jeremy Faison caused a stir Tuesday afternoon during a Tennessee House of Representatives debate over a cyberbullying bill, when he argued that it is a failure to instill proper values — not bullying — that leads children to commit suicide.

“We can’t continue to legislate everything. We’ve had some horrible things happen in America and in our state, and there’s children that have actually committed suicide, but I will submit to you today that they did not commit suicide because of somebody bullying them. They committed suicide because they were not instilled the proper principles of where their self-esteem came from at home.”

Faison, R-Cosby, seemed to be alluding to the recent suicides in Cheatham and Smith counties by a pair of teens who had complained of being bullied over their sexual orientation. The two cases received extensive coverage statewide and led to calls by gay rights groups for tougher bullying laws.

“Did Rep. Faison just say that kids commit suicide because they haven’t been instilled with the right values? What a disgrace,” the party wrote on its Twitter feed.

Faison later issued a statement saying that he regretted the choice of words and that his opposition to cyberbullying legislation is rooted in a belief that lawmakers should not criminalize childhood bullying.

“After reviewing my comments on the House Floor today, I regret what was a poor choice of words. My true intent was to protect children from becoming criminals. Suicide has touched my family, and I would never want a parent or family member to feel they were responsible for such an unimaginable tragedy.”